Oman emerge champions of WCL Division III

MUSCAT: Oman created history winning the World Cricket League Division III championship after a rain-affected final against Canada in Kampala on Tuesday. After electing to field first under heavily overcast conditions, Oman were put under pressure by some aggressive batting from Canada. The North American team raced to 176/3 in 38 overs before the rains took over.  Under revised playing conditions according to the Duckworth-Lewis Method (D/L), Oman were set a daunting target of 177 in 24 overs. Oman got off to a flyer as they reached 50/2 in 4.3 overs before the rain came down once again. Oman were declared winners eventually. It has been a supremely successful campaign for the ‘Red Brigade’ as they notched up three great consecutive victories on a trot against Uganda, Singapore and Malaysia apart from the opening match win against the USA. Their only loss was to Canada. It was a tournament in which Oman produced a tremendous all-round performance as the batsmen and bowlers came to the party in tandem. The likes of Naseem Kushi, Jatinder Singh, Aqib Ilyas, Khawar Ali and Zeeshan Maqsood in the batting department and Bilal Khan, Munis Ansari and company in the bowling department were in top form. SCOREBOARD Canada B Adhihetty c M Nadeem b Ansari86 N Kumar b Dhamba50 N Dhaliwal c S Ahmed b A Ilyas13 D Pathirana (not out)21 Extras (B-2, LB-3, NB-1)6 Total (For 3 wkts, 38 overs)176 Fall of wickets: 1-102, 2-125, 3-176. Bowling:    B Khan 5-0-33-0, M Ansari 3-0-20-1, N Dhamba     10-1-35-1, M Nadeem 4-0-12-0, Z Maqsood 6-0-28-0, A Ilyas 6-0-18-1, K Ali 4-0-25-0 Oman Z Maqsood c Pathirana b Dhindsa32 K Ali (not out)9 A Ilyas b Dhindsa0 M Nadeem (not out)6 Extras (LB-1, W-2)3 Total (For 2 wkts, 4.3 overs)50 Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-43 Bowling: C Pervez     2-0-10-0, SS Dhindsa 2-0-32-2, N Dutta 0.3-0-7-0